233 réponses à ce sujet

[DragonRacer]

Okay, let's recap what's been kicked around so far. There's a group of us willing to pitch in money and Lady Nuggins is willing to actually place the order since it would not be an international call for her. 

 

What we need to figure out/organize is:

 

1. Where to order from (I'll re-list the options I presented before, which are all businesses I have personally dealt with and feel safe recommending)

 

2. How much we have all collectively pledged to donate so that we know how much money we have to order stuff with

 

3. How to organize the money (since Lady Nuggins may be placing the order, it would make sense to directly donate to her PayPal account - if she has one or get one set up if she doesn't)

 

4. What we want to order and the quantities

 

5. Gather all the personal messages people want to send to BioWare so that the bakery can print them off for us and deliver them with the order

 

6. Actually execute the order and then follow-up that it was received 

[DragonRacer]

I can personally recommend the following as trusted sources of edible deliveries to the Edmonton studio office:
 
Cookies by George - Accepts online payments via credit card. You can put a limited message inside the card that comes with the cookies; you type the message while you're at the online checkout.

 

** (My Personal Recommendation) Fuss Cupcakes - You'll need to call them with credit card payment. You can email back and forth with the owner in regards to questions/total cost quotes, etc (their website also lists pricing, so it can really help you figure out roughly what your costs are beforehand). They were happy to print off an emailed message to the team for me to be delivered with the goodies. Ultimately, a phone call needed to be placed to secure the order/pay for it as they don't have online ordering, they have to get your credit card over the phone. If going this route, I'd recommend the mini-cupcakes (as opposed to full-size cupcakes) or a combination of mini-cupcakes and cookies, as that'll spread the quantity of goodies around more for your dollar. I'd always rather, for example, 70+ team members all get a little bit of yummy rather than fewer getting big giant ones, you know? Either way, the team's huge, so we're not gonna likely cover everybody, but in the past I've tried to aim at 70+ goodies minimum and let them mudpit wrestle it out over who gets the pieces.

 

SPECIAL NOTE: Well, this WAS my personal recommendation and their site worked the other day, but now their website is down. Don't know if that means they're out of business or what, but I'll try to scrounge up an alternative )

 

This was their phone number, if some kind, local Canadian could call and check on this for us (because maybe their site is simply down temporarily?): 780-761-3877

 
Cakes by Candace - Can do an email order, but need to call for credit card payment. Added bonus that she does nut-free edibles, so anyone at the office with peanut allergies can still partake as well. All of it's custom quoting and emails back and forth until you finally need to call with the payment info. She's very nice, but seemed a little pricey to me, probably because of making everything specially nut-free to avoid any potential food allergies. Fuss doesn't guarantee that, they've got nut products and work in an environment containing them.
 
Also, bear in mind to add an extra $12-$15 for the courier charge of them actually delivering this to BioWare. It's an extra cost on top of the actual goodies themselves. Also, Americans, feel free to pitch in an extra buck or two because the Canadian dollar is worth a little less than the American dollar at the moment, so our dollar stretches a tiiiiiiiiiny bit further. Each time I've ordered, the actual charge on my card was generally a dollar or two less than what I was quoted due to the currency exchange rate.
 

[DragonRacer]

As far as where to have the order sent and to whom:

 

BioWare Edmonton

200 - 4445 Calgary Trail NW

Edmonton, AB, Canada

T6H 5R7

 

You'd want to have delivery be on a workday, so any Monday through Friday. You'd also want it during work hours and Edmonton is on "Mountain Time" (MST) as far as time zones. I usually request delivery between 11am - 3pm mountain time, they'll understand what that means and it's at peak hours of catching somebody there (rather than early morning or late afternoon).

 

Also helps to have the order addressed to an individual's attention. I'd recommend having it addressed to: "Allan Schumacher and the Dragon Age Team". Doing that means the front desk person would buzz him to come down and fetch the goodies, so you know for certain it got to the right place. And if he's not there that day (out sick, vacation day, or whatnot), having it also mention the team means at least someone from there will get buzzed and you know it'll still end up in the right place.

 

On the written message(s) we want sent to the team along with the orders, I'd recommend whoever is placing the order to have an overall "cover letter" sort of message and list the BSN names of everyone contributing (this is the point where if folks want to remain anonymous, they'll need to tell us that), and then maybe have a secondary document that lists each individual's separate personal message (if they so choose).

[DragonRacer]

So, in case Fuss Cupcakes really is gone and out of business, I just found this new business that may be a good option:
 
Flirt Cupcakes

 

I haven't worked with them, but they sound really good from perusing their site. They're local, independently-owned, open to custom orders, so I think they'd be a great alternative to Fuss Cupcakes... I get the impression they'd be cool with printing messages for the team and working with us on a bulk price.

 

They have a $12.50 courier delivery fee, which is in line with the others. Their flavors and pricing look good, too, very reasonable and they offer mini-cupcakes like Fuss did.

 

Here's the menu/pricing: http://www.flirtcupc...om/flavors.html

 

If Lady Nuggins wants to take point on initial contact on our behalf, here is their info:

info@flirtcupcakes.com or phone us at 780-757-4899

[Mes]

Whoooo how exciting!! Well I'm happy to donate about $20 but can consider more if needbe. I have no idea how it's gonna work because it'll be from my New Zealand account... Will I just be able to select Canadian currency through paypal or...? I guess I'll figure it out once I actually do it.

[Bugsie]

Yeah I can offer about $20 through my paypal (although I'll have to put some money in there first!!)

[Nefla]

I'm cool paying like $50 but I'm crap at making decisions >.< someone else decide which bakery (I have gone into a McDonalds, etc...before, stared at the menu, and couldn't make a decision and left without getting anything even though I was hungry  )

[HuldraDancer]

Stupid question here but as someone who has no idea how paypal works do I need to have a paypal before I can put money into someone elses account? I'll go with whatever is good with everyone else here but the most I can put in is only 30$ (its all I've got at the moment sorry!)

[Blue Gloves]

I'm definitely down with donating $20 or $30.  With all the abuse the poor devs have heaped on them by us fans, and all the hard work they do anyway- they deserve a treat!

[Bugsie]

Stupid question here but as someone who has no idea how paypal works do I need to have a paypal before I can put money into someone elses account? I'll go with whatever is good with everyone else here but the most I can put in is only 30$ (its all I've got at the moment sorry!)

I'm not sure but I thought that you could recieve money from a credit card (not attached to a paypal account) - but that might only be for merchant services only.

 

Paypal is free and is the safest way to transfer money.  I don't like giving across my cc or account details so paypal is good way to pay (you can attach your account or cc to your paypal account and only you have access to that)  Also if the money isnt there you can't transfer it and someone can't request it.

[HuldraDancer]

Thanks for the info Bugsie I'll see about getting a paypal account set up then, ancestors willing I'll be able to get one made without much fuss from the family

[Mes]

So we addressing it to Allan specifically then so he can come collect? I must say he is probably my favorite Bioware employee, and if anyone deserves some goodies it's him!!

 

I haven't used paypal in ages but doesn't it just automatically link to your debit/credit card for when you want to make a payment?

[aTigerslunch]

My paypal automatically takes from my debit/cc account. I use it when I get something online, its been two months but still good.   Not trying to out do anyone here when I say I want to do $50, it seems reasonable considering the costs I was also exploring with it. My question is who's will be used? I wont mind who.

 

I think Bioware is getting too much slack from ME3 and DA2 and loved all Bioware games thus far.

[DragonRacer]

Stupid question here but as someone who has no idea how paypal works do I need to have a paypal before I can put money into someone elses account? I'll go with whatever is good with everyone else here but the most I can put in is only 30$ (its all I've got at the moment sorry!)

 

Another safe option would be to do an international money order and mail it to whoever is decided to be the official money-collector/order-maker (which will likely be Lady Nuggins), although that takes longer, usually has an extra fee involved, and is a little more work than simply opening a PayPal account.

 

But those are the two logical options. Checks don't always work international and I'd never advise mailing cash (plus, the effort she'd have to go through to get it exchanged to Canadian currency rather than your native currency).

 

 

So we addressing it to Allan specifically then so he can come collect? I must say he is probably my favorite Bioware employee, and if anyone deserves some goodies it's him!!

 

I haven't used paypal in ages but doesn't it just automatically link to your debit/credit card for when you want to make a payment?

 

To me, the logical choice is addressing it specifically to Allan and the team. I say this because, if BioWare's office is anything like most, then this is likely the scene that plays out:

 

The front entrance likely has a receptionist who assists any folks who walk in and answers any calls to the main phone line and connects them to the appropriate party. The bakery courier arrives with the goodies and informs her he has a delivery for an "Allan Schumacher and the Dragon Age team". That tells the receptionist exactly who to call up to, so she calls Allan, he pauses his work, and receives the goodies to distribute. That provides us a definite source active on the boards to contact later and ask, "Hey, did some goodies arrive on such-and-such date from such-and-such bakery?" (if he doesn't reach out to one of us first, that is)

 

If no name is given and we just address it to the Dragon Age team in general, well, NOW the receptionist has to decide who to try and call up to. Maybe it's a producer. Maybe it's a manager. Maybe it's whoever answers the phone first as she goes through the phone list. Now we have no idea who received them and that person may not frequent the forum and have a clue who any of us are to say, "Hey, got your goodies. Thanks!"

 

Always best to send to a specific name + mention the whole team. Allan seems the best candidate to me because he's frequent on the forum and he's the dev that was most directly involved in our thread. Plus, Allan's just cool as all get-out anyway.

 

But I don't mind reaching out to him personally and double-checking that he's cool with being listed as the recipient, if you guys want me to do that.

 

As far as PayPal, I think you can tie it to a credit card. I have mine tied directly to my checking account (which I need to update as my bank's routing number recently changed after a buy-out), so I go in and tell it how much money I want to upload to PayPal via my checking account, and it generally takes 2-3 business days for the money to show in PayPal. Then, all we'd need is the PayPal email address of the money-taker and we'd put in that email address and specify the amount we want to "gift" that person (Gifting it is probably the easiest transfer, I think? I don't use PayPal much, so someone feel free to correct me).

 

 

My paypal automatically takes from my debit/cc account. I use it when I get something online, its been two months but still good.   Not trying to out do anyone here when I say I want to do $50, it seems reasonable considering the costs I was also exploring with it. My question is who's will be used? I wont mind who.

 

I think Bioware is getting too much slack from ME3 and DA2 and loved all Bioware games thus far.

 

I'm thinking Lady Nuggins, since she offered to be the one to call and place the order, so she'd be the one giving the bakery her payment info. So, in essence, we'd need to pay her back for that. But I'll let her actually make the official call on being The One. 

[DragonRacer]

Also, I'll pledge $50. 

 

Not to pressure anyone, as that is a lot of money and I would figure most would be chipping in more like $20. I just happen to be fortunate in discretionary income, so I've no problem fronting extra to help make the total package bigger.

 

That puts us at roughly $250 already with just a few of us chiming in so far.

 

This is gonna turn into a VERY nice care package, folks! 

[Bugsie]

Sounds awesome!

[Andraste_Reborn]

I'm good to chip in $20!

 

(Does anyone happ to know if you can set the currency you're sending via Paypal? If I send money in Australian dollars, it's likely to end up a weird amount in Canadian.)

[oceanicsurvivor]

I can do $20 also. 

[Mes]

Oooooh you guys are so generous!!  Ok I'd say I can do $30 Canadian...

 

I suppose next step is to choose something that's around our budget and see how we feel about it??

[DragonRacer]

Oooooh you guys are so generous!!  Ok I'd say I can do $30 Canadian...

 

I suppose next step is to choose something that's around our budget and see how we feel about it??

 

Well, I'd still give it a few days for anyone else to chime in that hasn't already, plus to hear back from Lady Nuggins about if she wants to still be the point person for the money/placing the actual order. Maybe give it to Monday, so people have the weekend to check in as well.

 

With a confirmation on that, then she or I (or both) could start comparison-shopping goodies and places to narrow it down.

 

I'm personally stuck in PayPal limbo at the moment because updating my bank info apparently couldn't immediately verify, so I'm having to wait on their "alternate verification method" which they say is 2-3 business days to do.   So, I can't even start the 3-5 business day process of actually uploading my $50 to PayPal to have it ready to go.   So, I'm looking at a minimum 5-8 business day wait before I could send money to the point person... yeesh.

[Mes]

Well there's no rush!  Gives me time to remember my login details... hehe!

[DragonRacer]

Yup.

 

And I'll go ahead and put myself out there as the back-up person to call in the order/collect payment, in the case that Lady Nuggins cannot or no longer wishes to be the point person (because I don't want anyone to feel pressured or like they HAVE to do something).

 

I'm none too worried about international call rates. Every time I've done this, I've hashed the details out with the bakery via email. So, by the time I'd actually have to call, it was literally just to confirm the emailed order and give the payment info. Less than 5 minute call, tops, so not bad at all, really.

 

This is hardly my first rodeo on this sort of thing, haha!

[Lady Nuggins]

Augh sorry, this is my first time in a group on the forums so I thought I'd get automatic notifications about new posts.  Just came to start a new topic and oh look, everyone's here!  

 

I'm still fine with being the point of contact.  But I'm not very good at taking charge on things, so I'm so glad you guys are handling so much of this!  DragonRacer, the idea to address it to Allan is brilliant.  

 

Paypal really would be the best means for me to collect the money from everyone.  It's really easy to open an account, and it's somewhat flexible, since you can pay using either a credit card or bank account.  

 

If we've got $250 so far, that puts us just over 7 dozen cupcakes from Flirt.  If we get 8 dozen, that's 96 cupcakes!  I can still give Fuss a call tomorrow if you like, but Flirt looks like a good alternative.

[DragonRacer]

Augh sorry, this is my first time in a group on the forums so I thought I'd get automatic notifications about new posts.  Just came to start a new topic and oh look, everyone's here!  

 

I'm still fine with being the point of contact.  But I'm not very good at taking charge on things, so I'm so glad you guys are handling so much of this!  DragonRacer, the idea to address it to Allan is brilliant.  

 

Paypal really would be the best means for me to collect the money from everyone.  It's really easy to open an account, and it's somewhat flexible, since you can pay using either a credit card or bank account.  

 

If we've got $250 so far, that puts us just over 7 dozen cupcakes from Flirt.  If we get 8 dozen, that's 96 cupcakes!  I can still give Fuss a call tomorrow if you like, but Flirt looks like a good alternative.

 

Yeah, group notifications don't seem to really work... like, at all. You sorta just have to keep checking back in. LOL I was gonna PM you by tomorrow if you hadn't checked in, so no worries. Wasn't gonna leave you out of the loop for too long.

 

I know I've used Fuss in the past and they were very accommodating, but I am almost leaning more towards Flirt for two reasons: 1) New business, so it would help them a lot to get a big order and 2) It's run by two women, so that gives positive reinforcement on supporting women taking charge and being badasses! They also sound very easy to work with, judging by how they wrote their site up - I get good vibes.

 

I don't mind starting an email chain with them if you want me to, Lady Nuggins. Maybe we can work some sort of bulk rate/discount for doing so many (or not, but always worth asking) and also confirm if they mind printing out a Word document of personal messages to the team to deliver with the baked goods. I think they probably would, but getting confirmation is good and with confirmation we could let everyone know and start a second thread with the sole purpose of collecting all the personal messages to compile. I'll start work on the "cover letter" one, so to speak, tonight and post it up for all to review.

 

Let me know. I don't mind doing the front work of getting order ideas from them as long as you don't mind being the official money-receiver and order call-in person. It divides the duties a bit evenly that way, as I love organizing things but am not so comfortable sorting out finances, heh heh.

 

If you're cool with me starting the email to them, feel free to PM me your email address and I will copy you on all correspondence, so we could be co-leaders on this if you want!

 

I will also message Allan later tonight on Steam to check that 1) he's comfortable being the main addressee for receiving the order and 2) he may have some feedback if there's a "better/best" day/time of the week to have them delivered in the next few weeks.

[HuldraDancer]

Hey guys I know we're still just talking the basics here but I was wondering how the cupcakes are going to be still fresh if the place we're ordering from is in Scotland? (also kind of running into some bumps here with the family being all scam worried any suggestions on how I can get them to calm down about it? Sorry I know this isn't really on topic but I may not be able to do much depending on them sorry in advance)